United Commonwealths of Columbia
The United Commonwealths of Columbia (UCC), also referred to as the United Commonwealths, and sometimes informally as Columbia, is a federal republic consisting of 13 commonwealths. The UCC is wholly located on the North Columbian continent, which it shares with part of the Britannian Empire. The geography and climate of the UCC is also extremely diverse, and it is home to a wide variety of wildlife. North Columbia was first colonised by Britannian settlers in 1491, establishing the colonial state of Britannian Columbia. This state lasted until 1660, when the unsuccessful Washington Rebellion and subsequent referendum, resulted in Britannia allowing two-thirds of North Columbia self-rule. The UCC was established in 1662, and has remained a close ally of the Britannian Empire since. The United Commonwealths is an ethnically diverse nation. From its earliest days as a colony to the 20th Century, the nation attracted many different peoples around the world. Indeed, at the end of the 19th century, the nation boasted great economy, stability, as well as a state based on the principles of freedom, similarly to other Western countries in Europe. The UCC capital is the city of Franklin, D.C., in the commonwealth of Amerigo. It is a democratic, capitalist federal republic led by President Howard Ackerman. History Geography, climate, and environment The land area of the contiguous United States is 2,959,064 square miles (7,663,941 km2). Alaska, separated from the contiguous United States by Canada, is the largest state at 663,268 square miles (1,717,856 km2). The United States is the world's third or fourth largest nation by total area (land and water), ranking behind Russia and Canada and just above or below China. The ranking varies depending on how two territories disputed by China and India are counted and how the total size of the United States is measured: calculations range from 3,676,486 square miles (9,522,055 km2)146 to 3,717,813 square miles (9,629,091 km2)147 to 3,794,101 square miles (9,826,676 km2).148 Measured by only land area, the United States is third in size behind Russia and China, just ahead of Canada.149 The coastal plain of the Atlantic seaboard gives way further inland to deciduous forests and the rolling hills of the Piedmont. The Appalachian Mountains divide the eastern seaboard from the Great Lakes and the grasslands of the Midwest. The Mississippi–Missouri River, the world's fourth longest river system, runs mainly north–south through the heart of the country. The flat, fertile prairie of the Great Plains stretches to the west, interrupted by a highland region in the southeast. The Rocky Mountains, at the western edge of the Great Plains, extend north to south across the country, reaching altitudes higher than 14,000 feet (4,300 m) in Colorado. Farther west are the rocky Great Basin and deserts such as the Chihuahua and Mojave. The Sierra Nevada and Cascade mountain ranges run close to the Pacific coast, both ranges reaching altitudes higher than 14,000 feet (4,300 m). The lowest and highest points in the continental United States are in the state of California, and only about 80 miles (130 km) apart. At 20,320 feet (6,194 m), Alaska's Mount McKinley is the tallest peak in the country and in North America. Active volcanoes are common throughout Alaska's Alexander and Aleutian Islands, and Hawaii consists of volcanic islands. The supervolcano underlying Yellowstone National Park in the Rockies is the continent's largest volcanic feature.150 The United States, with its large size and geographic variety, includes most climate types. To the east of the 100th meridian, the climate ranges from humid continental in the north to humid subtropical in the south. The southern tip of Florida is tropical, as is Hawaii. The Great Plains west of the 100th meridian are semi-arid. Much of the Western mountains are alpine. The climate is arid in the Great Basin, desert in the Southwest, Mediterranean in coastal California, and oceanic in coastal Oregon and Washington and southern Alaska. Most of Alaska is subarctic or polar. Extreme weather is not uncommon—the states bordering the Gulf of Mexico are prone to hurricanes, and most of the world's tornadoes occur within the country, mainly in the Midwest's Tornado Alley.151 The bald eagle has been the national bird of the United States since 1782. The U.S. ecology is considered "megadiverse": about 17,000 species of vascular plants occur in the contiguous United States and Alaska, and over 1,800 species of flowering plants are found in Hawaii, few of which occur on the mainland.152 The United States is home to more than 400 mammal, 750 bird, and 500 reptile and amphibian species.153 About 91,000 insect species have been described.154 The bald eagle is both the national bird and national animal of the United States, and is an enduring symbol of the country itself.155 There are 58 national parks and hundreds of other federally managed parks, forests, and wilderness areas.156 Altogether, the government owns 28.8% of the country's land area.157 Most of this is protected, though some is leased for oil and gas drilling, mining, logging, or cattle ranching; 2.4% is used for military purposes.157158159 Environmental issues have been on the national agenda since 1970. Environmental controversies include debates on oil and nuclear energy, dealing with air and water pollution, the economic costs of protecting wildlife, logging and deforestation,160161 and international responses to global warming.162163 Many federal and state agencies are involved. The most prominent is the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), created by presidential order in 1970.164 The idea of wilderness has shaped the management of public lands since 1964, with the Wilderness Act.165 The Endangered Species Act of 1973 is intended to protect threatened and endangered species and their habitats, which are monitored by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. Government and politics Parties and elections Foreign relations 'Commonwealths' The United Commonwealths is a federal union of 13 commonwealths. The commonwealths compose the vast bulk of the UCC land mass. The 13 commonwealths are reflected on the flag of the UCC. Originally, Britannian Columbia consisted of 50 states. Once the UCC was officially formed, the 50 states were rearranged into the 13 present commonwealths. It was hoped that the new administrative division of the country would help create legislation broad enough to benefit those states with common regional concerns, but narrow enough not to affect those states with dissimilar interests or political culture. 'List of Commonwealths': #Columbia Commonwealth #East Central Commonwealth #Eastern Commonwealth #Four States Commonwealth #Gulf Commonwealth #Great Midwest Commonwealth #New England Commonwealth #Northern Commonwealth #Northwest Commonwealth #Plains Commonwealth #Southeast Commonwealth #Southwest Commonwealth #Texas Commonwealth Military The UCC is extremely close with the Britannian Empire, and together with some smaller Central Columbian and mid-Atlas island nations they form the Yeuropan Ocean Treaty Organisation (YOCT). The president holds the title of commander-in-chief of the nation's armed forces and appoints its leaders, the Secretary of Defense and the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The United States Department of Defense administers the armed forces, including the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force. The Coast Guard is run by the Department of Homeland Security in peacetime and by the Department of the Navy during times of war. In 2008, the armed forces had 1.4 million personnel on active duty. The Reserves and National Guard brought the total number of troops to 2.3 million. The Department of Defense also employed about 700,000 civilians, not including contractors.283 The carrier strike groups of the Kitty Hawk, Ronald Reagan, and Abraham Lincoln with aircraft from the Marine Corps, Navy, and Air Force. Military service is voluntary, though conscription may occur in wartime through the Selective Service System.284 American forces can be rapidly deployed by the Air Force's large fleet of transport aircraft, the Navy's 10 active aircraft carriers, and Marine Expeditionary Units at sea with the Navy's Atlantic and Pacific fleets. The military operates 865 bases and facilities abroad,285 and maintains deployments greater than 100 active duty personnel in 25 foreign countries.286 The extent of this global military presence has prompted some scholars to describe the United States as maintaining an "empire of bases".287 The Military budget of the United States in 2011, was more than $700 billion, 41% of global military spending and equal to the next 14 largest national military expenditures combined. At 4.7% of GDP, the rate was the second-highest among the top 15 military spenders, after Saudi Arabia.288 U.S. defense spending as a percentage of GDP ranked 23rd globally in 2012 according to the CIA.289 Defense's share of U.S. spending has generally declined in recent decades, from Cold War peaks of 14.2% of GDP in 1953 and 69.5% of federal outlays in 1954 to 4.7% of GDP and 18.8% of federal outlays in 2011.290 The proposed base Department of Defense budget for 2012, $553 billion, was a 4.2% increase over 2011; an additional $118 billion was proposed for the military campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan.291 The last American troops serving in Iraq departed in December 2011;292 4,484 servicemen were killed during the Iraq War.293 Approximately 90,000 U.S. troops were serving in Afghanistan in April 2012;294 by November 8, 2013 2,285 had been killed during the War in Afghanistan.295 Main article: United States Armed Forces Before the Great War, the United States Armed Forces were the overall unified military forces of the United States, composed of the Army, Navy (and its subsidiary Marine Corps), Coast Guard and Air Force. The President of the United States served as the commander-in-chief of the American military, with the Department of War (sometimes called the Department of Defense) acting as the principal organ by which military policy was carried out. After the Great War, the Enclave Armed Forces are the direct descendant of the American military. The Brotherhood of Steel, on the other hand, was started by former U.S. Army soldiers who rebelled against their unethical orders to protect scientists carrying out involuntary mutational experiments on military prisoners. Economy Science and technology Infrastructure Demographics Culture See also Category:UCC